Local man survives rattlesnake bites
By Elizabeth Billips Associate Editor

A Burke County man was bitten twice by a rattlesnake he mistook for a toy.

Curtis McCook, 51, was inside his Greiner Circle home last Thursday night when he saw a small snake on the floor and thought it was a rubber toy, according to a report filed at the Burke County Sheriff 's Office.

When he tried to pick up the snake, it bit him twice on the hand.

McCook was transported to the Medical College of Georgia where he was hospitalized and eventually released.

DNR rangers removed the 18-inch snake after finding it behind McCook's entertainment center.